FORT GREENE — In the wake of the car crash death of a 9-year-old boy, Fort Greene neighbors plan to march on the 88th Precinct's monthly Community Council meeting to demand that local police issue more tickets for speeding and drivers' failures to yield to pedestrians.
The march was planned over the weekend in the living room of a Fort Greene brownstone, where more than 30 neighbors met to discuss making local streets safer in the aftermath of the tragic death of Lucian Merryweather.
Lucian was killed on Nov. 2 when an SUV driven by Anthony Byrd, 59, jumped the curb, striking and killing the little boy as he walked with his mother and brother, police and witnesses said.
"We're just fed up," local parent and meeting organizer Hilda Cohen said. "This is an opportunity to get people in the community together who want to make change."
The first goal of the group is to get more than 300 people to attend the march that will begin on the corner where Lucian died — DeKalb and Clermont avenues — and end at the 88th Precinct Community Council meeting, which will take place at 209 Clermont Ave.
The group — newly named Make Brooklyn Safer— is set to present their demands for better traffic enforcement to local police along with a newly created online interactive map that documents "unsafe street conditions and unsafe behavior in Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods."
The map allows users to tag a spot where they witness a traffic violation and add pictures and comments in that place. Locals have already tagged more than 30 spots they have deemed "troubled locations."
Make Brooklyn Safer also plans to lobby the city Department of Transportation and local politicians for more stop signs, stop lights and speed bumps in the area.
The march will begin on Nov. 19 at 6:15 p.m. Updated information about the planned rally and march can be found here.
